{"id":1889,"date":"2026-07-16T22:35:59","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T21:35:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/?p=1889"},"modified":"2026-07-18T08:44:58","modified_gmt":"2026-07-18T07:44:58","slug":"vendors-at-delsus-abraka-market-decry-rising-fuel-costs-as-food-prices-soar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/?p=1889","title":{"rendered":"Vendors at DELSU\u2019s Abraka Market Decry Rising Fuel Costs as Food Prices Soar"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>By Esther Okafor<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Traders at the Delta State University (DELSU) Market in Abraka have expressed concern over the rising cost of food items, attributing the increase to persistent fuel price hikes that have driven up transportation costs and reduced consumers&#8217; purchasing power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The traders said the higher cost of moving goods from wholesalers to the market has forced them to increase prices, making it more difficult for students and residents to afford basic food items.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Madam Patience, a foodstuff trader who has operated in the market for several years, said the rising cost of fuel has significantly affected her business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cFuel price is killing us. Before, I could buy a bag of rice or garri and still make a reasonable profit. Now, bringing those goods to the market is very expensive. Customers ask for prices and leave because they can\u2019t afford them. Sales have dropped seriously,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Other traders shared similar concerns, noting that transporting vegetables, yam, beans, tomatoes, pepper, and onions has become increasingly expensive. They explained that they have been compelled to adjust prices frequently, while some now purchase smaller quantities of goods or source produce from nearby farms in an effort to reduce transportation costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Despite these measures, many traders said the situation has offered little relief, as operating expenses continue to rise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The increase in food prices has also affected students who rely on the market for affordable food supplies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Godspower Ebuka, a student of Delta State University, said the rising cost of living has placed additional pressure on students&#8217; finances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cA meal that used to cost between \u20a62,000 and \u20a63,000 now costs much more. We have to cut down on what we buy because everything is expensive,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The traders appealed to the government to address the rising cost of fuel and provide greater support for farmers and transporters to reduce production and distribution costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">They warned that if the current trend continues, more small businesses may struggle to remain profitable, while students and other residents in the university community will continue to face increasing food costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Observers believe that measures aimed at reducing transportation costs and improving agricultural productivity could help stabilise food prices and ease the economic burden on consumers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Esther Okafor Traders at the Delta State University (DELSU) Market in Abraka have expressed concern over the rising cost of food items, attributing the increase to persistent fuel price hikes that have driven up transportation costs and reduced consumers&#8217; purchasing power. The traders said the higher cost of moving goods from wholesalers to the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1890,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"iawp_total_views":6,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,14],"tags":[31,73,25,26,149],"class_list":["post-1889","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-abrakametro","category-trendingnews","tag-abraka","tag-business","tag-delsu","tag-education","tag-food-prices"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1889","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1889"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1889\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1891,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1889\/revisions\/1891"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1890"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1889"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1889"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1889"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}